The Justice League is getting older in 2021. While most of it's founding members are in their early to mid-forties, Superman himself still looks nearly the same he had over a decade prior. The League had gone through several incarnations over the years. There were also splinter units like the Justice League of America and the JL United, as well as the JL Dark led by none other than John Constantine. In the year 2021 however, heroic metahumans are getting to be fewer and fewer. Most alien races that don't appear to be human are often shunned by society, the now more alien Green Lantern from the planet Tandax was banned from Earth. The economy in the United States was still fighting a losing battle. Crime rates, especially metahuman crime, was up a record 120% from this time in 2010. Law Enforcement all began wearing more militaristic SWAT team style gear equipped with state of the art non-lethal AND lethal weaponry. Visually something resembling Robocop mixed with a little Judge Dredd just also packing riot gear. Some metahumans operating as heroes are not welcomed by all of the 2021 law enforcers. Only the League has been officially sanctioned by the President of the 'States: Clara Kendall. Young heroes have been 'sponsored' by the remaining members of the League to operate in Star City, the former home of the now deceased Green Arrow and one of the larger metropolitan cities with increased metahuman crime. The Young Justice program has kept many a young superhuman from going rogue. Can the young heroes take back Star City from the grips of chaos and become full fledged members of the Justice League? Take note that this will take place one year after the previous game YJ2020. Returning active characters will be that much closer to League status...

____________________

One Year Earlier, YJ 2020

____________________

YJ 2021 Titanpad

---

Player/Character Master List

Seasoned YJ Members

The Kid Lantern - Ditto - GM
BlackSam - Fenrir the Wolfman - Deputy GM
_________________

Endrance - Shock
MistressDizzy - Orbit
GreenGrenade - Hellfire
riurik - Fate
DVonAwesome - Plastic Man II
Lucian - Apollo
_________________

New Additions

QT - Brick
Lord Wraith - Thrillseeker
Exodus - Frostbite
Rumiko - Shadow Dancer
Liriia - Owlet
XxFellsingxX - Cassandra
Siti - Shade
CrimsonWarrior55 - Armory

---

Rules:

1.) No back-to-back posting.

2.) PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND SET-UPS!!

3.) Make sense. If we can't make heads or tails of your posts they're likely to get skipped over.

4.) Get permission before using another player's character in your posts if it involves changing the scene or making actions. Everybody will take beatings in this game in battle however, so don't get pissed if you get punched or blasted into a wall by the bad guys!

5.) Problems with the game or players should be sent directly to me through PM's. I don't want a bunch of bickering in the OOC.

6.) Abandoned characters will be used as NPC's or killed off within the context of the story.

7.) “I was waiting for [insert player/character] to make a move” is not an excuse to not post.

8.) There is no rule #8.

9.) My word is law.

10.) Obey the law.

11.) In the event that I'm offline for any period of time, the deputy GM (BlackSam) will take control and HIS word will then be law.

---

Star City


Young Justice HQ, 1:06 PM...

Over time the group had went through changes. New costumes, the return of Black Canary as the 'den mother', as well as a few new faces. Ditto surprisingly didn't have a bunch of Dittos running around, despite his power upgrade. While the young hero wasn't the clown he used to be, he was still seen as friendly when it came to others. He stopped talking to himself as much as he used to, since now he had an unlimited supply of duplicates rather than just two dupes who might as well have been his brothers. While his number three got lost in the crowd after what happened at Cadmus, Ditto2 grew worried over the original's change in attitude. But number two wasn't around and neither were any other duplicates. Kilian had planned on enjoying the BBQ chicken sandwich he'd found in the fridge in the kitchen of the HQ. Made by Shock no doubt, Kilian knew she wouldn't get that mad. Kilian sat at a dining table with his shirt off, having just came from the showers still a little wet behind his ears.

"So much has happened in my time on Earth... I haven't thought once about going home to Cargg. Star City is my home now. The team is my new family. Even the newer additions to the team are more likable than aunt Epsi..." the Carggite hero thought while consuming the sandwich and trying not to make a mess.

A couple of the other members of the team walked by the kitchen probably en route to the lounge area of the cave. The meeting room still overhead of the floor level of the base, the engine room still running as quiet as a new car. Long corridors extend in both directions, one to the new elevator that's replaced the staircase leading below to the War Room as well as to the entrance hidden inside the ground floor of the old Queen Industries building. The Engine room as well leads to the elevator. The long hall of white doors above the ground level of the cave on the same level as the suspended meeting room and hallway had several doors open with young heroes making themselves more at home in their personal quarters.



Ditto finally broke down and decided to duplicate. His number two, his conscience, the only duplicate that ever really questioned Kilian even before he was given the ability to make more than just two dupes....

"I was thinking about going for a jog, you wanna stretch your legs?" Ditto1 asked the duplicate finishing the sandwich.

"Just the two of us? I thought we didn't hang out anymore?" Ditto2 responded eyeballing the last bites of the sandwich being savored by the original Carggite.

"I just got self conscious about talking to myself all the time and not taking stuff seriously. Now that I'm leading more of you into battle Superman thinks I have what it takes to be a leader. It's a lot of pressure with everyone we've lost, that the League's lost." Ditto1 tried to explain.

"Thanks for coming to me with this Kilian, but I think you should talk to Canary if you're not sure of things. For once, I'm telling you not to talk to yourself. So reabsorb me and get your damn shirt on..." the duplicate said glowing green and the original Kilian's green eyes flicker, "...you should've given me a bite of that sandwiiiiiiich - - -" he said dissipating as another teammate looked to be coming into the kitchen/dining area....

~KL~

It was as if she was a hermit that only left her mountains (if mountains meant junkyard) for some of that good home cooking. She’d seen an unrelenting side of her brother as they honed her skills, and yet she still felt so very far behind him after coming so far. After the first couple weeks with someone who could understand her abilities far better than she (or animal man could), she stopped fainting with over exertion. With Virgil, she was able to learn how to hold an extra reserve of strength, and push herself when she was on the brink. She could even hold off Static’s electricity blasts for a good five minutes. She’d accomplished so much in a span of a couple months…

And yet, she couldn’t help being so very far behind. Sometimes she’d find herself thinking that she was the less apt Static. A knock off of the real thing, but she’d quickly shake her head and try to put out those kind of thoughts. Behind those brown eyes was a tinge of envy, and resignation, but she owed it to the world to better herself. She owed it to herself because she’d given up on cooking for this.

Often, she’d wonder about Ditto… or Ditto #2 to be precise. It was another thing she tried not to dwell on but found herself slipping into the thoughts during dinner, or a hidden place of strength when she tried to balance three tractors. Though she’d take it to her grave, she’d pull a smile when she remembered the first time he tried to ride on her pole. Especially the first time Virgil randomly drenched her in water while she was meditating, and she fell face first in the dirt. Virgil expected some cussing and harsh words but was surprised when he just heard laughter. She smiled widely at it for about 2 minutes then fixed her face and promptly went back to meditation. Unfortunately, things weren’t like how they used to be. Things were really complicated.

Dakota City had it’s hero here and as a lesser static clone, Shock was happy when her training with her older brother was finished and she could get back to the team. A lot of stuff went down though, teammates who were there one day and gone the next. Even the League had it's share of deaths, and Veronica could see the added weight and pain in her bros eyes. Sometimes she wondered if he could see hers. Mortality is a scary thing for most but Veronica had forced herself to see it as nothing but a new adventure.

Today, Veronica finally reached Star City and assumed her favorite spot – On top of a tree in the forest. Leaning against the trunk, legs outstretched on the wood, she wondered about how the team would take her return…Virgil told her there would be new members. Her only response was a sigh. More personalities and what if they were as bossy as a couple teammates used to be? She ran her hand through her hair, recollecting. Might as well not put it off anymore , she thought. She reached for her pole in her jacket and pushed a button as it stretched. The wind blew as she took her witch-like position onto her pole and took off towards the YJ HQ.

---

Of course, when she entered the first person she noticed among the sea of new faces was the Carggite. In the brief moment her eyes flickered, she could tell he seemed...different. She pretended not to (such a high school move for the young lady), and walked on, straight into the lounge. She wasn't in the mood to meet anyone after that but yet she plopped onto the couch and stretched out like a cat. "What's good?", she said to no one in particular, just to make sure nobody accused her of being unsociable. She turned her head to face the back of the couch and yawned. At this moment, she found the trees outside way more comfortable than the couch.

Gabe Harlan hovered above the slums of Star City, searching for any signs of trouble. Though the sun blared overhead, the air was cold, causing the young hero to be even more alert than usual. He never did like the cold too much, and the fact that it was lunchtime and chilly made him somewhat on-edge. The young voice of a girl suddenly made itself known, screaming for help. She sounded desperate, full of fear... Just like Gabe more than two years before. Back then, he hadn't yet discovered his powers. He had lived on the streets. Back then, no one came to help him until it was too late, and he was passed out on the ground, the ashes of his assailants surrounding him.

Hellfire flew through the air at high speed, determined not to fail the girl like Gotham had failed him. "I'm coming, I'm coming..." he thought, the cool afternoon air brushing past his masked face. He remembered feeling so cold... so lonely... so helpless as the thugs attacked him, demanding money which he obviously didn't have. He remembered feeling like a monster when he discovered his powers... Using them to kill the thugs in an out-of-control fear-fueled barrage of flames. The memories caused tears to form in his eyes, tears which he immediately willed back into his sockets.

Just as he arrived at the girl's location, she let loose a scream louder than those before, her hopelessness and terror ever evident. Five criminals were crowded around her, two of them armed with a knife, the rest unarmed. They all looked lustful for the girl, who was no older than fifteen. A rage filled Gabe, and heat began radiating from his body as he hurtled down towards an unarmed crim. A loud snarl escaped his mouth moments before his armoured fist collided with the crim's face, sprawling the man across the ground. Adopting a fighting stance, Hellfire glared at the would-be rapists, using his own version of the famous Bat Glare.

The two knife-wielders charged at him, one in front and the other from the right. A grave mistake on their part. As the one in front tried to slash across Gabe's neck, the hero ducked under it and twisted, blocking the other's stab to the rib and pulling him off balance. He then turned back to the front in time to dodge an overhead stab, landing a rib-shattering body-rip, followed by an uppercut, causing the con to bite down on his tongue, knocking him out cold as blood streamed from his mouth. The remaining knife-wielder made a futile attempt to skewer Hellfire through the stomach, and his hand was simply slapped away before he was kicked King Leonidas style into a garbage can.

As the two residual criminals quickly made to pick up their fallen friends' knives, Gabe ran to the girl, who had been watching the fight in a combination of awe and fear. When he neared her, she began to cringe away from him, and he noticed a number of bruises on her face. The flame-wielder immediately felt sympathy for her and spoke, his voice gentle in contrast to his imposing muscular figure.

"It's going to be okay. I've got you. Hold my hand."

After she reluctantly grabbed hold of his left hand, Hellfire raised his free arm, summoning a scorching circular wall of black fire, blocking the path of the remaining thugs. In an attempt to protect her face from the heat, the girl buried her face in her rescuer's chest, surprised to find that it almost matched the fire's temperature.

Mustering his most threatening voice, Hellfire yelled to the criminals on the other side of the firewall. "You're both going to listen to me now. You're beaten! You are not going to hurt this girl, or anyone else! Now, here's what you're going to do: You're going to go to the SCPD and confess to all the crimes you've committed. You're going to tell them who was involved, and you will plead guilty against any charges laid against you. Got it?"

He could practically sense their nods.

"Now GO!"

The sound of frantic footsteps echoed through the alley, mixing with the roar of the firewall. Once he was sure they were gone, Gabe dissipated the flames, looking at the girl. She withdrew her head from his chest, looking up into his emerald green eyes. It was then that he took in her features and noticed how pretty she looked despite the bruises. Her eyes were of a bright blue colour, her hair a light shade of brown. Her skin was fair, and her face delicate, soft. She somehow reminded him of Jin... He wasn't sure why, but she did.

"Those men won't be hurting you anymore. You're safe," he managed to say, taken aback by her beauty.

"Thank you," she mumbled, quickly looking away as their gaze became too intense for her liking.

"It was the least I could do," said Gabe, looking away himself. "What's your name?"

"Matilda... You're Hellfire, aren't you? Part of Young Justice..."

"Yeah, that's me," he confirmed. "Speaking of Young Justice... Darn it, I'm meant to be at HQ now. Do you have a home?"

"Oh... Yeah."

---

When Matilda told him where to drop her off, he swept her off the ground and took flight, dropping her off near her home, before dashing towards the abandoned Queen Industries building, below which Young Justice HQ was located. It had been a year since he was last there, spending most of his time off helping another member of the team, his "bro", Magnus, with his own business. The experience was, to say the least, horrifying, and the cruelty which Gabe had seen being practiced on others left a large scar in his mind.

Finally arriving at HQ, Gabe had the intention of seeking out Jin and catching up with her, but he then noticed a rumbling in his stomach... Food would have to come first. "Sorry Jin," he mentally apologised as he took off his mask, ruffling his short black hair. Walking into the kitchen, he noticed someone munching away at a sandwich. Was that...

"Kilian! How've you been? Man, you look different!" exclaimed Gabe, happy to see his teammate.

[Shadow Dancer has Fish

Fumiko escaped the board meeting at Iga industries with her sanity at least partially intact.
"How can people kiss her but and still not manage to listen?" She thought as she stepped off of her private elevator and was met by her Butler Hanzo who already had a steaming cup of tea for her nerves

Hanzo: "Miss Iga I do hope that you are not contemplating a boardroom coup, as I previously pointed out, if you get rid of them then you'll have to perform their jobs and yours" he says with a chuckle

Fumiko:"Yes Uncle I remember and no I haven't contracted anyone to take them out no matter how appealing it seems. she says then sips her tea

She walks across her 1,200 square foot living room to the private balcony. As she nears the doors they open soundlessly cued by their image recognition system.
She breaths in the salt air as she nears the railing and looks out like a queen over the docks which her ships use here in Star City.

Fumiko: "Hanzo would you see to having my GT-R ready, I'm going out tonight to catch some night life" says Fumiko leaning against the rail and looking down 73 stories below.

Hanzo: "May I ask if this will be a diner an dancing trip or hunting?" asks the 53 year old retainer who's family has served her's for 9 generations now.

Fumiko: "I'm thinking the former but one never knows if the latter should present it's self" she laughs as she turns and hands him her empty cup

Fumiko walks back inside and floats gently up to the second story interior balcony and then walks towards the bath. She waits only moments before Yuriko who's Hanzo's third daughter and her body servant steps in and begins undressing her.
Most of the time Fumiko tells Yuriko to let her do so herself but others she allows her friend and servant to pamper her.

Yuriko: "Tough day with the gray heads Fumikokun?" asks Yuriko as she follows Fumiko into the huge bath

Fumiko: "My bottom is chaffed by their lips and my head hurts from their stubbornness" she says as she takes a set on a wash bench

Yuriko laughs softly as she kneels behind her mistress and take a warm soapy sponge an begins lathering Fumiko's back as Fumiko begins lathering her front.

Fumiko:"Honestly I think they wish I were more of a dilettante an let them have their way while I partied

Yuriko:"That's what I'd do if I were you, I'd be in magazines an gossip shows with my flavor of the week" giggles Yuriko as she fills a rinse tub then dumps it over Fumiko's head

Fumiko: "If I did that those old snakes would have me as little more than a figurehead" sighs Fumiko

Yuriko pours shampoo onto her head and begins working it in then rinses and conditions as well as a couple more treatments before Fumiko enters her bath. The two friends talk about Fumiko's real world troubles as she soaks.

An Hour later Fumiko is dressed and ready to head out for the night just as the sun sets.

Hanzo: "You Car is ready Miss Iga, please have an enjoyable evening an do be careful" he says his worry showing through

Yuriko: "Knock em out Fumikun" giggles Yuriko drawing a disapproving look from her father

Fumiko bows to her retainers before she leaves then enters a nearby shadow and falls to the basement parking deck stopping her rapid descent before she reaches her destination.

She steps out onto the dark private section of the parking deck and opens her car's gull wing door and steps into the little black dragon as she affectionately calls the GT-R made by Shinizita motors.
It growls as she starts it's high performance 10 cylinder dual turbo engine.
At 595 hp the little Dragon isn't the fastest car in the world but it dose have a top speed of 220 mph and the most unusual drive train for a super car. All her hp is channeled into a power generation system usually found only on supersonic jets. The power is then routed to four in hub drive motors that are fifth generation super conductors. This means there is no transmission only raw power and that translates into 0-60 at a whiplash rate under 3 seconds and 100 in 5.

Fumiko drives from the garage through traffic and enjoys the stares her Little Dragon gets along the way. She parks a short time later at the Star City Fish Market drawing more looks as she heads into what many would think people her worth shun.
She heads right inside past the different fish stalls and finally enters Baka no Sempai's sushi bar.
Sure it's decor is middle class but Taki Yamaguchi it's owner is the best on the east coast.

Taki:"Miss Iga welcome back" he says as he prepares her a tray without asking her order.

Fumiko trusts Taki to know what's the best of his product and let's him chose her meal.

Fumiko:"350,000" she says as he sets down her sushi tray

Taki:"Try again next time I'm still happy here and that's not enough t change my mind" he says with a soft chuckle

Fumiko had tried to hire Taki the first time she'd eaten at the fish market as a guest of Sh into monk she'd befriended who was the principle of the Shinto shrine here in Star city.

Beck had been in the lounge for quite some time before anyone else walked in. The quiet was kind of nice, but he did come all the way to the lounge to be social. He decided to wait it out instead of wasting the trip down. Wearing the sweats he slept in and a grey tank top he'd thrown on in the morning, he was full-out resting. Leaning-back-arms-behind-his-head-closed-eyes-resting. Having not slept very well that night, nor the time to sleep in, this was a nice compromise... Until his stomach growled.

Beck walked into the kitchen. He walked by Kilian, and opened the fridge. "Mornin," he said, as he looked inside. Not seeing anything immediately interesting, he looked over to his teammate. More specifically, his teammate's sandwich. A sandwich was a perfect idea! Beck started grabbing ingredients from their places. "So, how's your morning?" he asked as he started to create what he figured would go down as the greatest turkey sandwich in the history of mankind. Or, at least, the best turkey sandwich he's ever made... Which isn't saying much.

Beck hadn't noticed Gabe come into the room, as his own back was turned, preoccupied by his sandwich. Having finally finished his masterpiece (which was sadly rather average), he turned around and saw him. "Oh, hi." Beck walked past him, sandwich in hand. "Later guys."

Brick - War Room

"Begin simulation, code name Brick," the giant amphibian said, his voice echoing through the empty war room. With his code name entered, the War Room would commence an already created simulation. It would have it's set amount of enemies with a pre-selected difficulty and rounds. He'd been down there for hours, training until his muscles ached. He wasn't too friendly to the others, though they were the reason he was alive. If they hadn't taken him in, there was a possibility the government would have snatched him up. And when the government snatched somebody up..........well, let's just say it doesn't turn out that good for that somebody.

Anyhow, if Tintoretto wasn't training and furthering his abilities, he was studying the culture of the American people. Coming from another planet made it harder for him to adapt to this new one, but he was managing. He wasn't always so hot-headed as he has shown to be now, but his experiences have been what drove him to this point. Being banished from a world he called home was the last straw for Tintoretto. So now he took out all that anger, that undesired rage in the simulators which his teammates - as he has learned to call them - have taught him to use. Tintoretto feels that the angrier he gets, the stronger he becomes - and it shows. Once during a training exercise, a certain distasteful memory came thrashing through his mind. The memory left a raw taste in his mouth that infuriated him. And with this fury, he destroyed the training bots with ease. His fist had become harder than stone, harder than steel maybe - or so he felt.

But right now, his mind was nowhere near that aggravated. Instead, it was at peace and looking forward to continue his schooling on the simulated battlefield. Like stated earlier, he had been training for hours at end - four maybe five. Of course, he has taken brakes between sessions in order to catch his breath, not even the trained amphibian was capable of unlimited endurance.

With the simulator beginning, Tintoretto gripped his dual sai and took his battle position. He had some kind of old Chinese style Martial Arts stance, clearly coming from some sort of training. Of course, this training wasn't done on Earth, but in his home planet of Swaenous. All he had time to do on Earth was learn it's customs and ways of life. He had already become adapt to it in his short time here.

Tintoretto hadn't really left the HQ since he arrived at it as a guest. It's not that he wasn't allowed - no one could stop him? - but because of his appealing physique. Humans would call him a monster as quickly as he surfaced. Though there were many extraterrestrials - as the humans called them - out in the open, they always wore some sort of disguise to cover their true appearance. They would wear different colors to embody different emotions or elements. They had disguises to completely shade their own appearance because of self-disgust. Tintoretto himself sometimes wished he could look like the rest, but never truly put much thought into it.

But all these thoughts just faded as the simulation finally started. Three beeps came from the head computer as one of the droids began its transformation. It started off as a hologram but quickly created a full composed humanoid android. The robot took the form of none other than Validus, the strongest member of the Fatal Five. Tintoretto had already defeated many other enemies during this days training, such as the Flash Rogues and a couple others. But now he stood against a giant amongst villains. Everyday he would end his intense training against Validus. Why one may ask? Because he has yet to defeat him.

Out of the ten difficulty levels he was taught to use, Tintoretto would always put his final enemy at the hardest. He's been testing his durability in battle and has yet to prove himself worthy of stronger opponents. With invulnerability, super-strength and the capability of projecting mental lighting from his head, Validus has proved to be too much for Tintoretto. "Hope you're ready for this," the amphibian said as he dashed forward towards the large best. The giant space creature grunted as it also dashed to attack. It's giant three fingered fist aimed for Tintoretto's entire frame, but the hero evaded the punch by leaping to the right with one quick motion. Brick - as he is called - took the opportunity to ram his elbow into the beast's left rib cages. He heard a snap, but it had no effect on the overall battle as the Validus' left arm came swinging towards him.

Without time to dodge, the only acceptable maneuver was to block. Knowing not even bullets could pierce it, Brick turned ninety degrees to his right and let his shell take the massive impact. Unable to keep his feet grounded, the Slider - the name of his species - went flying into the holographic tree, a lifelike hologram created just for the realism of the simulation. The program made it seem there was a giant dent on the huge tree trunk, but in reality there had been no damage done to the War Room. Brick returned to his feet and charged once again. Validus quickly turned to face Brick, firing one of those blasted lighting rays at him. With the environment irregular, Brick knew it was alterable. Dodging the first lighting strike, he jumped behind a taxi cab. The simulator had picked Star City as it's battle location. It was basically a random urban sector of the entire city.

With quick reactions, Validus fired yet again. Brick picked up the vehicle and used it to shield himself from the enemy. The lighting wrangled against the taxi cab as it started to get closer to Validus. Brick was forcing his way towards the enemy as the vehicle began to light itself on fire. Soon enough, Brick was right before Validus who was still firing his ray of lightning. But suddenly, the cab burst into flames and instantly exploded, sending both hero and villain flying into nearby buildings. The building Validus crashed against tumbled to the ground, creating a giant dust cloud as it tumbled into nothingness. Fortunately for Brick, his building remained intact. The amphibian was damaged all over, even his small face-mask had gotten ripped apart. He forced himself up yet again and exited the colossal hole in the building. But as he saw the simulation was not over, he knew the fight wasn't either.

Out of the cloud of dust and the building's rubble came walking the mighty Validus still in one piece. He had a small crack on his helmet, but that was all. More than usual though. Feeling the weary effects of his extensive training, Brick knew he wasn't going to hold up. Therefore he had to act quickly and efficiently. He took his dual sai yet again and started running towards the enemy. "AGHHHHHH!!!!!" he growled as he ran down the simulated street. Validus fired his lightning again, but Brick seemed too quick on his feet for the beast. His light steps and martial arts training made him quicker than he looked.

He then jumped on his own back, allowing his shell to slide through the street. He went under Validus' legs then quickly regained his footing. Not giving the beast enough time to turn, Brick jumped on its back jamming his sai into Validus' trapezoids. The beast seemed to have yelled in pain as it reached for Brick. With much attempt, Validus finally caught the amphibian by the arm, swinging him above his own head and into the hard road. Though the shell protected him from the massive impact, it didn't stop enough of the pain to call it a successful defense.

Again the beast rose him into the sky and slammed him back into place. In desperation, Brick started to stab Validus in the hand in order to loosen the monster's grasp. One of his sai was still attatched to Validus' back, so Brick had to work with only one. Once the beast finally let him go, Brick rolled to the side before he was stomped. But as he stood up, Validus had taken the opportunity to run up to him and kick Brick through an entire convenience store. "Ugh," Brick grunted as he attempted to stand but was unable. As his eyes turned up, he could see Validus charging one final lighting blast aimed right for him. Before it fired, the simulation cut off. "Mission Incomplete. Simulation Over" the machine called out as Brick stood himself up, wobbling side to side afterwards.

He was able to make his way to a nearby bench as he caught his breath. He drank some water from a bottle then crushed it as he finished. "Blasted simulator!" he barked, throwing the bottle towards the trashcan but missing. He then started to mumble words that didn't make sense, just anger and rage. Once again he found himself too weak to defeat Validus on his own. He looked more down than the end of Old Yeller.

But as another entered the War Room, his entire persona seemed to change. He went from sad to prideful in less than a fraction of a second. Wisteria Adams, AKA Owlet had come to train herself. It was amusing watching her perform because she was the weakest in the team - that's the way Tintoretto saw it anyway. She had no powers like the rest of the group - was merely a human being. In addition to that, she didn't seem to have the fighting spirit, she was too sweet and earnest. So as she started her simulation, Tintoretto started to pack his things into a gym bag he was provided. That would be that.

| THRILLSEEKER |
Caleb Murdoch sat in the midst of several unfinished projects as he tinkered away with a half built motorcycle engine. Turning around to grab a new tool, he found himself suddenly caught up in assembling a thruster for the jetpack designs he had. Truth be told Cal was constantly thinking about each of the projects simultaneously however he was only a man with two hands and could not physically work on them all at the same time. He had considered building a set of additional artificial limbs but he didn't feel like screwing around with neural transmitters. He smiled as he thought of an older superhero film where the villain had trouble with such a device causing the artificial limbs to control him. Cal definitely wasn't about to risk that happening.

Standing up to stretch, Cal swayed slight to the blaring sound of music as it echoed around the small room. Picking up a dart off a nearby cluttered desk, Cal lined it up with a holographic projection of not just any human brain but a live feed of his own. Various areas of the diagram glowed as Cal tuned into the numerous noises and other stimulus around the room. Behind him, a literal wall of monitors displayed a multitude programs, ranging from the news, to documentaries, to reruns of Firefly. Taking it all in, Cal was testing his limits, seeing how much information he could manage to process in detail while keeping it separate and organized within his mind. It was amazing watching his brain at work, unlike an actual human, he didn't just focus on one thing at hand, he didn't just multi-task, Cal was literally able to take in everything his senses picked up and perfectly remember it. Or at least, he would be able to once he had fully explored his abilities and learned how to control them.

Despite being part of the Young Justice initiative as suggested by Blue Beetle, Cal felt obligated to keep an eye on Gateway City as he still hadn't managed to track down his mother's killer. Despite years of hunting down numerous leads over the years, the trail often went cold every time. That said, Cal had still managed to make a significant impression on the city's criminal underworld with Blue Beetle's help. Without Kord, Cal wouldn't have been able to get his hands on the resources required to design and create his equipment. Before Kord's involvement, Cal had been using weapons made out of hardware tools. He had however managed to create a rather versatile weapon out of a nail-gun, nothing in his current arsenal even came close to representing that.

Picking up another dart, Cal turned his attention from the diagram of his brain to a 'Conspiracy Web' he had put together of Gateway City's criminal underworld. He could swear that there was one man behind it all, or at the very least an inner circle at the top to which all the lesser gangs reported to. Perhaps on some down time from the team Cal could zip down to Gateway and check it out. By car, the city was barely three hours away from Star. That was one of the good parts about Star City also being on the West Coast of the United States. Turning to his wall of monitors, Cal tuned back into his show just in time to mouth 'Big Damn Heroes Sir' along with Zoe as the climax of the Firefly episode played out behind him.

Allowing his mind to wonder again, Cal began turned his attention back to the barely completed jet pack before he turned abruptly on his heel and strolled across to his armor rack. Looking over the upper half of his armor, Cal examined it for a way to reinforce it while he began to go over the crime statistics for Star City in his head. If he was going to wear a jetpack, his armor would need to have some sort of under-laying harness installed in order to support his back and shoulders while also ensuring the jet back didn't just directly tug on one part of his body and instead the force was distributed equally.

Truth be told that was the easy part, Cal spun around and threw another dart as he slipped on a gauntlet and tapped the holographic interface along the shock pad. Projecting a holographic screen into the center of the room, Cal began to drag parts as he assembled a mock up for the jet pack and ran a couple diagnostics to see how much weight the projected design should be able to lift, to what altitude and at what speed. Pausing as he heard noise outside of his room, Cal shut down the interface and paused his monitors as he opened the sliding doors and poked his head out. Based on the noise someone was using the war room a few floors below prompting Cal to go watch as he turned around to lock up his room. Shutting off his monitors, he nearly banged his head off his shelf that he had lined with scale models ranging from the Serenity to an Imperial Star Destroyer, to the USS Enterprise E. Exiting the room and making his way down in the elevator, Cal stopped at one of the War Room's observational windows as he looked in on another one of the new recruits, the alien turtle.

Deciding he was going to screw with the 'Ninja Turtle', Cal made his way up the stairs in he control room as he began to set up a pool party simulation complete with bikini clad woman and the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. However before he could hit run, the alien had finished his session and was training places with Wisteria Adams, or as she preferred to be called, Owlet. Intrigued, Cal cancelled the simulation he had programmed and allowed her to input one of her own as he looked down to watch his potential rival. They had a lot in common in terms of their preferred weapons and M.O. but to Cal's understand, Wisteria was not a Metahuman. That said, Cal couldn't help but find himself lingering on her longer than necessary, surprisingly he found her attractive it would seem.

Giving his head a shake, Cal's thoughts cleared up as he went back to designing the motorcycle and jetpack while also analyzing Star City's crime statistics, all while he watched the Owlet strut her stuff below.

It was a different training room than Wisty was used to. To start off, it had a control room, which was a clear difference from the matted floor and wooden wall dojo she frequently visited. The control room was suspended above the main room, and there was already someone fiddling around with the board. Cal, the one with the computer-like brain, if she recalled. Possible rival, but also a teammate. How jarring. The turtle boy, Tintoretto or something, was already down there, but it seemed that he was just finishing up. She deduced that Cal was either over-viewing him, or attempting to fuck with the simulation somehow. Once the other boy noticed her presence he drifted back and allowed her to get busy with the tech. Wisty took no time to take in all the tech and start fiddling with things. Finding most of the commands basic, she got the hang of everything in no time, and eventually started setting up her own simple, mostly safe scenario. One that would not need overseeing, just a basic set up containing five, hand to hand-set droids and perhaps a risen platform or two. Once he was out of the room and the rest of the sim was set she drifted out of the room and down the stairs, curious eyes glancing about every so often to take in the exact scale of everything. After sliding silently through the hall and finally entering the training room she froze, feeling a swell of sudden emotions at the sight of the room before her.

Silver covered the floor and walls, feeling strangely heavy beneath her wushu-clad feet, as if static was keeping her stuck tightly in place, but it could only be expected from such a high-tech facility such as this. Instead of dummies, there were holograms, and instead of vaults and trapezes there were... More holograms. Despite feeling a bit uncomfortable in the new surroundings, her excitement to train in such an electronic place couldn't be contained, as evidence from her wide grin. Figuring out how to set up a few holo-droids had been fairly simple, the hard part would be taking them down, seeing as she set them to a rather high level. Well, it was a small price to pay for getting fit. Wisty smirked down at allowed her mind to empty of all worry, focusing instead of her giddiness to start.

"Begin simulation, code name Owlet." The droids instantly lowered into a defensive pose as she moved closer, and with a cocky smirk she did the same, taking on a typical boxing stance.

Stillness, no one moved, and at first Wisteria deduced that some sort of malfunction had occurred, but then a fist whizzed passed her cheek, sending a few strands of her hair flying. Instantly on the defensive she slid back, raising her arms to block a few of the straight-on punches while her eyes traveled across to the other four, seemingly idle foes. She had decided on giving them varying body types, and from what she could see the heaviest and the smallest were still not moving. The thinnest was also idle, as well as the bulk, so the one delivering the blows was probably the only female, or, at least, the one who shared a similar physique to Wisty. As soon as her wrist began to feel sore Wisteria ducked, allowing her right leg to shoot forward and connect with the droid's ankle, throwing the attacker off balance. In the next instant she shot up, sending a left hook to connect with the staggering droid's would-be temple, but before she could land a hit another fist shot forward, clipping the tip of Wisty's noise. The other four were on the prowl now, a reaction to their injured comrade perhaps?

Wisty pulled back, smirking as the five slowly surrounded her, fists raised at varying heights. Silence, only being filled by the faint breathing of the blonde, and then they were all moving at her. She had a second; a second to take in everything and anything from her surrondings. The two risen platforms, one to the far right and one rather close to her left, untouched, silver flooring, and five enemies.

'Perfect.'

Fists met air, heads turned in confusion, focusing first on the empty air and then the surronding grounds. Wisty had slipped under the attack at the last possible second, keeping tight and concealed as she stumbled through their legs and out into the open field, latching onto the closest wall. A bright red tank top and gray sweats were no ideal camaflouge, so spotting the hero on the side of the platform took no time at all, but it was just long enough for Wisteria to start her take downs. The closest enemy was the thin one, and without a second thought she detached herself from the wall and pounced on the droid, landing in a way that would send the hologram down first. Her knees gripped the thin sides of the bot while her hands wrapped around the side of its head, adding just enough force to summon a sickening crack from the back of its fake-skull.

She jumped off the now-still droid and turned to the remaining four, the cocky smirk domination her face. The look-alike and the shortest one shot forward then, arms raised with what appeared to be pre-determined punches. She was moving as well, sliding forward on silent feet while her hands clenched tightly, and once they were in striking distant she jabbed, catching the shorty just under its mouth. She was prepared to nail the look-alike in the chest, but there had been a sudden shift in attackers, which lead to Wisteria nearly getting a face full of elbow. The bulk had squeezed in between the two others, and was already sending a barrage of jabs and hooks in her general direction. She managed to block most of them, but had been nailed rather roughly in the ear-cheek area. As the pain and numbness began to spread she shifted back, eyeing up the attacker, and then with sudden fierceness she bolted forward, leaping into the air to send a diving kick directly into the droid's general nose area. As soon as her left foot touched the ground she pivoted, sending another kick into the bot's shoulder. It staggered slightly, but did not fall, and with a final push she took two steps back and kicked out with her left leg.

The bot teetered and then toppled, and Wisty took no time to rush along to the other three, bursting fist first into the group. Her knuckles connected with something, she didn't know what, and then it was just a flurry of bodies. Hands on hair, legs tangled in legs, and Wisteria was in the middle of it all, blocking blows and sending kicks as fast as possible. Finally growing wary of the crowd, she allowed her body to push up and out, spreading the crowd out evenly before her. Wisty smirked, slowly raising her hands to tighten her ponytail before she turned to the largest member who stood in front of the rest. He would make for a lovely domino effect. The tubster rose his hands, obviously prepared for a few jabs, but Wisteria was already taking many steps back, fists raised but not clenched and mouth upturned but not smirking. The droids didn't seem to respond to her evident retreat at first, but in the next instant bolted forward all at once, all while she had become distracted with the cinch tie that swung from the front of her sweatpants.

'That'll works.'

Her mind whirled with formulas for a second before she was on the move at well, ripping the aglet-tipped string from her sweatpants while at the same time making sure to keep a bit to the left of the oncoming crew. Once the first punch was thrown she leaped, vaulting over the largest one's shoulder. With intense focus and sharp movements she turned mid air, the cinch tie which tightening between her two hands as she pulled it over the droid's head and tightened it around its neck. Once secure (well, she was moving a bit too fast to know if it was secure or not) her body weight shifted, and once her feet were planted firmly on the metal floor her shoulders lowered and with a heavy grunt she shifted the tubster's weight up and over her body. Once the droid was in the air she pulled away, curling the cinch tie around her hand, and as the huge droid hit the ground, very nearly crushing the two behind him, she sprung, landing face first on the confused bot.

With that one out of commission, she turned to the last two and instantly threw a bunch in the general direction of the short. Skin connected with skin, probably a guard, and after throwing a few more jabs she kicked downwards, hearing a blissful crack as she broke the bot's pseudo-shin. Another kick to the side and it was down, leaving finally the look-alike. A fist skimmed her ear, the sudden quickness surprising Wisty, and she quickly countered with a jab of her own, but it also only skimmed the side of the bot's face. They shared blows and kicks, moving in a flurry of quick motions that might appear unnatural to those watching. Wisteria eventually began swinging the cinch tie around as well, scratching and teasing the bot with sharp, aglet-induced pinches. When it seemed she had finally begun to annoy the look-alike she ducked, swiping her leg around to knock it off its feet. With it now disarmed, Wisty flipped over and pinned it with her knees, ignoring the frantic thrashes as she lifted the final bot's head and smashed it against the floor.

The simulation ended there, with all five bots unconscious, and Wisty stood and stretched. She had taken a few hits, in fact her ear was still somewhat ringing, but nothing that would put her out of commission in an actual mission. Feeling somewhat accomplished she ended the simulation completely with a few words and turned towards the exit. Once in the hall she took a seat on one of the chairs and let her head hang back. She hadn't trained hard enough, it would seem, as her legs and arms weren't screaming with pain like they normally did after sparring with Black Canary. Worthless. She'd have to try harder next time. The accomplished feeling had faded, and now feeling just annoyance she rose and moved towards the War Room where she had left her bag and water.

Once she entered, her eyes met two figures. The turtle and the computer. Looks like she had an audience. Her cheeks turned red with anger at herself and discomfort from the two males, but she did not utter a single noise, instead drifting silently over to where she had thrown her duffle bag in the corner. After taking a small swig of water she rose and drifted back towards the door. Now would be a lovely time to start fiddling with the Canary Cry bombs she had been trying to remake, but her restlessness from the two figures in the room was enough to make her distracted. With a final nod she exited and started back towards the hall that had the chairs, hoping to find peace there.

| A Collab Between Liriia, Lord Wraith and QT |

Watching Wisteria exit the War Room with a smug expression plastered across his face, Cal walked out of the control room as he went down to speak with her. Overall he was actually impressed, the girl definitely had more hand to hand experience and skill than he did, he was much more relient on his suit. That said, Cal would never admit it to the younger girl's face and instead whole heartedly intended to give Wisteria a good ribbing. Pausing as he stopped beside the 'Ninja Turtle', Cal looked up at him and smirked as he nodded his head towards the flustered girl.

"She did alright eh? A little bit of trouble there in a middle but I think she might just be hero material yet."

Unlike Cal, Tintoretto did not find Wisteria's training session to have done her any justice. The young female looked as though she lacked the strength necessary to defeat the training dummies. Tintoretto didn't understand how such a weakling - as he learned to call them - held the status of a hero.

His thoughts were disrupted as Cal approached him from the side. Tintoretto turned to the human with a flustered look. He was agitated that the man thought he was close enough to him that he could join him at anytime. He then spoke against what Tintoretto had been thinking, giving Wisteria credit she surely did not deserve. "I think I speak for everyone when I say No" the amphibian started. "She merely defeated five droids, that is not enough to impress" Tintoretto said allowing a distinguishing snarl come from his nostrils.

"Who taught you English? Simon Cowell?" Cal snarked with a small chuckle. "Or did you just get banished from your planet for bad attitude? I know you're new here and all but instead of putting the girl through the wringer, you should at least try to give her some constructive critism." Cal said as he walked outside to go after Wisteria. "I mean, I'm all up for some good jabs, but that was just downright nasty." He waved towards the blonde before realizing her back was turned as Cal jogged after her. "Hey, Owlet! Wait up!"

Wisteria was absorbed in her work, so much so that she barely heard the call for her attention. Barely, though, wasn't fully. The scattered, somewhat spherical tech in her hand shifted as her shoulders grew slack, and she turned ever so slightly to see one of the two from the War Room jog up. Her eyebrow rose, but in an instant was replaced by a small, sweet, probably fake smile,

"Cal, right? What's up?" She asked, pivoting around in the chair to make full eye contact wit the older boy.

Tintoretto sat there for a second taking in all of Cal's comments. When the young hero spoke about his banishment, something ticked in his head. He started to feel his blood boil in anger, his veins popping like the expanding kernel that puffs when heated.

He slammed his hands into the bench and pushed himself upward. He now stood taller than nealy all his teammates and started towards the hall where Cal had ran off too. His feet stomped loudly, echoing throughout the empty War Room. It seemed as though the sound richocheted like neutrons. His stomps were like bullets, rapid and booming. "Think yourself better than me!" he thought to himself as his eyes targeted Cal. He felt like ripping off some heads.

Looking down at Wisteria's hand and the tech held within it, Cal smiled as he looked up at her face before speaking.

"Hey, just wanted to say that was a good sparring session. Creative use of your draw string back there, what sort of weapons are you skilled with? Some sort of braided weapon I'd imagine based on what you did in there." Looking back to the tech, Cal's mind quickly began to piece together several possibilities for what she may have been building. "If that's supposed to be a sonic grenade, might I suggest adding a second wire to this conduit. You'd be able to increase the range of effect." Feeling the air move behind him, Cal looked over his shoulder at the obviously miffed alien who was storming towards him like a bull. "What's eatin' you Ninja Turtle?"

Finally catching up to the joker, the amphibian towered over the human. His eyes irritated from the massive amounts of rage he was holding in, but they remained open and sturdy. For a couple of ackward seconds, the giant said nothing, jus stood there in complete silence as he breathed rather quickly.

But once he was able to process what Cal had said, he instinctively acted. He took the smaller male by the arm and pushed him towards the left wall, having his back crash against it. With his left hand gripped on the human's limb, his right hand followed as it started for his face with a closed grip. But right before it came in contact with it, it tilted an inch to the side and crashed against the same wall. His exhaling breath now came in full contact with Cal's face. "What......" he took a breath before continuing. "What did you call me??!!"

"WHAT IS A NINJA TURTLE??!!!!" He cried in a full blasting growl. His entire mission to crush the boy's face in had desipated. The thoughts of banishment had vanished as well as Cal's mockery did not please Tintoretto. He even forgot Wisteria was in his presence.

At Cal's compliments she smirked, only slightly, and nodded as she listened to his insight on her match. Before she could answer any of his questions on what weapon she used, though, he turned his attention down to her hand. The smirk faded, however, when he began pointing out a few ways to make her work in progress more effective. Wisty wasn't a fan of being helped unless she thought she needed it, so that obviously wasn't a good way to make friends with her. The sudden entrance of the turtle interrupted her anger, and when he suddenly grabbed a hold of Cal she rose instantly, taking on a semi-offensive stance.

It faded away when the alien cried out in anguish about having no knowledge of what a Ninja Turtle was. Laughter bubbled in her chest but she withheld it, instead untying the string which was still tightened around her hand. Wisty spun it around in a small circle a few times before throwing the end forward, whacking the alien's outstretched arm,

"Mr. Tintoretto, it's not very nice to bash around your teammates." She smiled another fake smile, "please let him go?" The request sounded a little forced, very fake, and there was a hint of amusmnt hanging near the end. She obviously could care less about Cal at the moment.

As the string came in contact with Tintoretto's inner bicep, the amphibian seemed to have jumped back a little. The string seemed to have left a rather stinging sensation in his arm, causing his hand to stagger without control until he took hold of it.

With that done, the unfortunate effect was that Cal stood free once again. His eyes had now turned to the female - Wisteria. Her get-up was as ridiculous as her fighting style. As Tintoretto shook off the stinger's pinch, both his hands resumed to tighten. "Teammate? This.......this.......This Ninja Turtle is not my teammate! A teammate is a fellow member of a team, but I don't see a team here! This world is a prison! Stuck here underground like a Rugdrou" he called out, using a species from his planet as a metaphor.

"I have rather died then be down here stuck with a bunch of weakling hero-wanabies!" Tintoretto finished as he walked passed them, bumping into them on purpose as he stormed off.

Cal couldn't hold himself back from laughing even while pinned against the wall by the much bigger creature. As it became flustered and asked exactly what the human had called it. As Tintoretto released Cal, the young man dusted himself off before answering.

"It's what you look like half-shell. Now no need to be so angry, what the shell's the matter with you? Hungry, want a slice of pizza?" Cal snickered clearly not intimated by the creature. He raised an inquisitive eyebrow as Tintoretto referred to Cal as a Ninja Turtle before breaking into gut wrenching laughter. "Ooh! Can I be Mikey! We both know you're Raph! Hey Owlet, want to join in, you can be Venus de Milo!" Cal said as he wiped a tear of mirth away from his eye. Scowling at the humorless alien as it rudely shoved it's way through, Cal turned to Wisteria. "If he wants to leave so badly, I'm sure I could design a rocket to strap to his back that'll get him off world. At the very least perhaps we should lock him up with the wolfman for now. See which one comes out alive, my money's on the wolf." Cal said as his face returned to a smirk.

Wisteria sneered as the amphibian pushed passed her, but before she could yell out a retort Cal was already on the move. His insults ranged from mainstream to just plain nerdy in a matter of seconds, and with each word she felt her anger growing. Finally sick of the smart aleck before her she approached, quick and silent, and grabbed him by the hem of his shirt. Once they were perfectly eye level she smirked,

"Shut up. It's not very nice to insult your teammates." Her weight shifted, allowing the taller man to hook and flip over her shoulder, landing just a few feet behind her. Then she was moving again, silent as ever, gathering up the unfinished bomb and her duffle bag. With a final sneer at the loud mouth, Wisty began to drift back down the hall, on the prowl for a silent, lonely place to continue her work.

Allowing himself to flop to the floor, Cal looked up as he watched Wisteria walk away. He was wrong about her being only kind of cute before. She was definitely cute, and more so when she was pissed. Picking himself up off the floor, Cal decided it would be best to go a different direction from everyone else as he headed up to the lunchroom to find something to snack on.

Time for Fumiko's other Job

After she'd finished her meal at the fish market Fumiko got back into her car and drove back to her building and parked once more. To the casual observer she would appear to have simply gone out to eat an returned home.
Fumiko quickly changed in a storage/walkin closet on the parking deck that she maintained for her use.

Once she'd changed identities from Miss Iga of Iga Industries to Shadow Dancer Fumiko stepped into a shadow and traveled to the HQ of Young Justice.
Where most members used a door she used the shadows of the lower levels to enter the cave structure. So soon she was stepping out and into yet another converted storage room which did an immediate recognition scan of her before it logged Shadow Dancer as present in the facility. She walked over to the door and opened it then stepped into the hall and turned right headed for the meeting lounge.

Fumiko had found the new League as much as they'd found her while exploring Star City, they called it patrolling. When she'd first spotted them she'd been masked by shadows an hidden shortly after taking down a Triad that was using her's an several other shipping companies to smuggle drugs, guns an people. The Justice League had come as well to investigate the Triad's activities but had found it smashed by Fukushū as they had come to call her (Vengeance Demon)

Fumiko watched as those members of the League worked with the police to round up the broken criminals she'd left strewn through out the warehouse. And when things had calmed down and the League had headed their separate ways she'd followed on of them through the night sky and waited her chance to introduce herself when they landed on a bridge support.
(I'll accept anyone who wants to be the Hero she first revealed herself to as her first contact)

She had been amused when the hero had laughed an said she hardly looked like a Spirit of Vengeance. They chatted and during their conversation she asked if she might be able to meet their teammates. A few days later at a designated spot Shadow Dancer met with an negotiated with the Young Justice League.

Now here she was a new member and headed to a meeting where she could observe how normal heros planned their missions and ironed out their differences. As the most junior member Shadow Dancer rarely spoke at the meetings for she had no wish to appear rude or over reaching.
____________________________

She walked into the member's lounge dropping her concealing hood and took a seat and wondered where everyone was
As she sat Fumiko smiled enjoying the novelty of attending such an informal gathering where she was not in command and no one here wanted to kiss her but.

She looked over the assembled curiously as her attention o shadows drew her to them.
She saw that she was alone for a few minutes and decided to make a cup of hot tea. Standing she went an gathered all the things she required and soon had her desire clutched in her hand as she took a seat and began sipping.

Giggling softly she wondered if the others were away on patrol and she had the base to herself.

| Collab between Exodus, Kid Lantern and Lord Wraith |

Walking through the base towards the lunchroom Cal grumbled to himself beneath his breath.

"Join the team he said, you'll make friends he said, it'll be good for you he said." As he turned to go into the lunchroom, Cal looked up just in time to stop himself from colliding with another one of his supposed teammates. Perhaps this one would like to throw him against the wall or trip him as well he thought to himself bitterly. That turtle definitely had an attitude problem.

Beck was looking at his sandwich as he walked down the hall. "I cannot wait to eat this," he thought to himself. He looked up from the plate, and saw Cal about a foot away from his face.
"WOOOAAH!" he shouted, half-jumping backwards. His eyes widened in horror as he realized that his misstep threw the sandwich off the plate and into the air behind him. He immediately spun around at the waist and created a small disc of ice sticking up from the ground, upon which the sandwich safely landed. He sighed in relief, holding a hand to his forhead. "That was a close one... Hah, wow." He picked it up, and set in on his own plate before setting the plate down on the mini ice-table.

"Whoa, sorry there man. Almost didn't see you. I have like a billion things on my mind. Literally." Cal added with a laugh.

Beck chuckled. "It's fine, man, no worries... Close call though, huh?"

"Quite so," Cal nodded as he turned to look at the small disc of ice. "You must be Frostbite, I'd say 'ice to meet you but that wouldn't be very cool of me now would it." Cal said with a smirk. "No but seriously, I am so sorry for those. It's like a compulsion though, I couldn't help myself. Especially not after dealing with a turtle who backed onto his log the wrong way and a girl who may or may not be having that time of the month, if you know what I mean." Cal said with a laugh. "I'm Cal, out there though," He pointed up, naturally implying the city above the base. "They call me Thrillseeker. My mind works too fast so I get bored easily, took up heroing to keep myself entertained originally." He was of course lying since the death of his mother was the true instigator but no one else needed to know that.

"Yeah, that's me." Beck mentally rolled his eyes at the puns. "But, uh, most people call me Beck," He pointed down. "Even in here." Despite his friendly expression, he was already starting to assume that Cal had pissed the other two teammates off, and not the other way around. He heard someone approach from the kitchen, and took a bite from the sandwich as he turned to look.

"Sorry I didn't say anything to you or Gabe earlier, been spacing out more since I quit talking to duplicates..." the senior YJ member apologized approaching some of the newer recruits, "..and Shock makes a mean BBQ chicken sandwich. You finding everything you need, Cal?" he asked the new face already having read his file.

"So far so good, moved in and got my room all set up. Lots of nifty tech discarded around here I've been able to work with. Though I must say, feels crowded down here after having a whole city to yourself for nearly seven years." Cal replied as he looked at the team leader who had come out of the lunch room. "And how are we doing today Boss Man?" Cal asked with his trademark smirk.

"Call me Kilian, D, Ditto, anything but Boss Man. 'Boss' means something else entirely on Cargg..." Ditto responded making his #2 duplicate.

"What's up #1?" the duplicate with a conscience asked, "Go see what's up with V, you're the one she likes talking to and she kinda gave me the cold shoulder walking by earlier..."

As the duplicate ran off to find Shock, the original Kilian turned back to his new brothers in arms.

"Anybody up for some War Room action?" he asked with a green flicker in his eye.

Beck glanced at his sandwich on the table, and took a deep breath. He decided that the training was more important, and if nothing else, he would have something to look forward to later.
"Yeah, sure." He looked to the sandwich. "Looks like we'll have to catch up later, pal..." Mentioning something about "being right back," he took his plate, sandwich on top, and grabbed the ice-disc by the spike that stuck it onto the ground, and walked into the kitchen. He put his plate into the fridge and tossed the two pieces of ice into the sink before heading back out. "Alright. I'm good."

"I'll grab my stuff and meet you guys down there." Cal replied with a mock bow as he departed for his room.

Tintoretto - Personal Chamber

The door to his room quickly opened as he placed his hand on the hand print security scanner. The giant crouched a little to get through the door frame, but once in the room, he could once again stand completely upright. Unlike most rooms, his seemed to have more height to it to accommodate his size. Near the left wall he had his large bed, a new profound relaxing apparatus he did not have in his home planet. Back there he would sleep wherever he spent the night. The world was mostly jungle - at least where he grew up.

Anyway, there was also a regular old desk with a rather large screen attached to the wall above it. He was told it was both a computer and a television, two mechanisms he also discovered in his short time on Earth. The large screen provided wonders for Tintoretto - motion pictures and melodies he'd never believed possible. He would always watch action movies, ranging from The Matrix to The Bourne Ultimatum. His favorite was the fight scenes where the main protagonist would kick the most ass possible. Unfortunately, human's were nothing like the actors of these movies. Instead, they were the exact opposites, causing nothing but problems and providing no solutions.

As the door to his room had shut closed, Tintoretto decided to look something up on the computer. Because he was enraged by his lack of knowledge of the planet he was inhabiting, he decided to do a little more research. "Computer, search........Ninja Turtles" the giant amphibian called out as the computer quickly loaded. Within about .29 seconds, thirty-four million plus results were found. At first it was all web links, so he decided to name another command. "Images" he stated, and before he had a chance to blink, pictures of his race started to pop up throughout the entire screen. "What the hell?!!" he angered quickly, his left brow raising high. His teeth had clanked together forcefully as he continued to look at what seemed to be himself. "They know of us?" he questioned, now fearing how much the humans knew about him and his people.

"Videos" he commanded as the motion pictures began to pop up. He clicked the touch-screen and the video played. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Heroes in a half-shell, turtle Power!"

This sudden attack of repetitiveness struck Tintoretto and made him stumble backwards in disbelief. "What is this??!!!" he yelled at the bloody screen. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an animated television series produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson and the French company IDDH" the screen responded, getting its source from non-other than Wikipedia. "A cartoon?" Tintoretto asked, not truly wanting a response because he already knew the answer. "The humans mock my race with this sort of ignorance?!!"

The giant then walked up to the screen and grabbed it with both hands from the top edge. His grip tightened and dented the screen as he started to pull. "Please refrain from physica-" the screen managed to get out until it was completely torn from its wall socket. It now lay broken on the floor of Tintoretto's room, completely shattered from all angles. To make it even worse, he stomped it a few times before becoming contempt with his victory. He spit on it and huffed. "I'm not turtle" he urged once more before exiting the room.

He had gone in there to calm down, but only found himself even more angered. So again, he had to find another way to be more tranquil, so headed towards the mess hall, to eat something maybe.

Fumiko explore the new digs

Looking around the room Fumiko decided it was in need of a few missing articles that made things more fun.
She lifted her phone to her ear and called her Butler Hanzo

Fumiko: «spoken in Japanese»"Uncle would you please pack my cappuccino machine then my Game systems and their attendant cables and extras. I'd also like my karaoke system and .......hmmm..." says Fumiko pausing in thought as she looks around the room.

Fumiko: «Japanese»"And box my coffee an teas as well."

Hanzo: «Japanese»"Of course Miss Iga, shall I reorder all those things you are taking?" asks Hanzo of his Mistress

Fumiko: "Of course and double....no triple the coffee an tea" she says with a soft laugh

Hanzo: "Of Course Miss Iga, will that be all?" he says with a hint of humor in his voice

Fumiko: "That will be all Uncle and thank you for your efforts, please call me when you've all that boxed an ready" she says just before hanging up

Nearby a Shadow beckons and unable to resist Fumiko dives into it to explore the base. No sooner than she's entered her Realm dose her form shift and her Oni form become revealed.
She has two large curving horns that were they straight would be a foot and a half in length. Her height become taller as she now stands six foot four inches tall her body nearly nude save a loin cloth an a strip of ebony fur that barely restrains her breasts that have become over five times larger than her normal ones.. Lashing the air behind her is a thick tail that tapers to a point nearly five feet behind her.

"I wonder what my. Teammates would think of me now?" she asks a nearby denizen of the Shadow Realm that trembles to be so close to her Mistress at yet still exist.
"To bad my cell phone doesn't get reception in here and forget about selfies" she giggles which frightens and sends the smaller shadow creature fleeing before she can devour or harm it.

Soon Fumiko sees Frostbite, Thrillseeker and Ditto talking about something but knows that no matter how much she strains she can't hear them.

"I have to get better at lip reading soon" she says with a laugh that for reasons hard to explain sounds like metal being torn.

As she continues to watch the three males make some form of an agreement and begin heading off. As she watches them Fumiko finds her mind filling with thoughts that her human one has little trouble curbing but is intrinsic to her Oni form; "which of the males is a worthy lover?"

Thinking that is enough of that Fumiko heads back to where she was formerly and waits to see if Hanzo is finished with her task.

A few cautious steps, a tentative sniff of the air. How familiar this felt, yet different at the same time. The first time he had stood upon this street corner in front of the long abandoned Queen Consolidated building he had still been trapped in his monstrous other-form, the taste of freedom still fresh in his mouth. The world had seemed so much larger then, full of potential. That was all before he had become a man and began his war. Then he had been hesitant to enter the building concealing the Team's base because it was unfamiliar and alien, it's grim industrial lines making it seem far more intimidating to a creature that was meant to roam the wilds. Now he stalled on the front porch because he knew all to well what awaited him behind those doors. A new war, one against faceless crime, one that he could spare very little time on while Gretta Tante still roamed this earth, and a new 'Pack', another group who would no doubt let him down at the soonest possible moment. If it hadn't been for Hawkman's insistence and Gabe's persuasions then he would turn his back on the whole ordeal.

Instead he forced himself to take a step forwards, followed by another. Before he knew it he was through the front doors, all the while the Wolf in his head was growling it's disapproval. Since leaving the team a year before man and beast had learnt how to live alongside each other more harmoniously, but they still disagreed from time to time. Usually Magnus could quiet the Wolf, but this occasion was proving more difficult than others as deep down the man didn't want to be here either, but he had promised Gabe he would come, and he owed the Gothamite a great deal.

He was in the elevator now, his last chance to back out slipping through his fingers. The last time he had been greeted by Black Canary, her yammering being an annoying, yet comforting background noise. This time his heightened hearing could pick out the voices of his new companions down in the base, even over the whirring gears of the lift. For some reason their voices were far less welcoming. He arrived on the ground floor, the doors sliding open to assault him with sensations both new and familiar. The smells of his old Pack mingled with the new recruits, eliciting a mix of emotions from him. Joy, anger, sadness, regret. It was dizzying.

A deep breath did little to calm him, but he honestly didn't think there would have been a quick fix for this. Maybe there was no fix at all. With a sigh that sounded like a snarl he left the lift and padded silently through the currently empty halls. The stench of BBQ assaulted his nostrils, no guesses to who had been eating that. Magnus avoided the source, wishing to delay his reunion with Ditto for as long as possible. Their last meeting hadn't gone well, and the wolf-man wasn't sure he approved of the Cargitte's recent decisions, both tactically and personally. Instead he made for his old room.

It was exactly as he had left it, down to the reinforced steel bedframe. That wouldn't be necessary anymore as he had control over his transformation, much lighter now than he had been before, but the familiar touch resonated with him. He threw his duffle bag on the bed and doffed his jacket, hanging the garment behind a chair back. He unpacked slowly, enjoying the act of making the place his own. He only had a few clothes, his Nth metal suit and his Bowie knife to fill the wardrobe, but it was more than he had the first time. A picture of his parents, a gift from Carter Hall, was placed lovingly on his bedside table. Next came out his journal, a book filled with a collection of notes and diagrams. It was all the information he had managed to assemble on Grannie's organisation. Carter (quite hypocritically for a historian) had teased him for his preference for outdated note taking, but Magnus couldn't get a handle on computers, no matter how hard he tried. As always it looked depressingly small, proof of how well Tante covered her tracks.

Though still spartan my most definitions this was all Magnus needed to feel at home, and it was little enough to re-pack quickly, if push came to shove. Once this was all done he left the room, reasoning that now was as good a time as any to get this over with. A short walk later, passing one of the new recruits on the way, and he was back outside the kitchen, next to Ditto.

"Kilian. It's been a long time."

(GG/QT)

When Gabe received no reply from Kilian, he raised his eyebrows. It was unlike the Carggite to ignore, well, anyone, and Gabe was rather taken aback. However, he shrugged it off, and nodded towards the new guy... Beck, he assumed, from what Batman had told him through messages. Seeing that there wasn't much talking to be done, Gabe walked to the fridge and extracted a snack bar. "That should do for now," he thought, walking out of the kitchen and heading towards his personal quarters. Expecting to find peace and tranquility, he instead found a massive humanoid turtle stamping along the hallway.

The giant humanoid turtle as it seemed he was, continued his strides along the hallway, not paying any attention to his surroundings. As he and Gabe got closer to each other, a sudden aroma marched towards Tintoretto's nostrils.

Not wearing his mask, this scent was even more fervent than he could ever imagine. His senses might have had been spiked by this new odor. His eyes couldn't help but turn towards the bar in the man's hands. It was still in the wrapper yet he could smell it as if it were right before him. He gulped as his mouth seemed to water. That anger he carried down the hall seemed to have faded as his tongue savored the anonymous flavor of the snack.

Gabe had already passed by him by the time Tintoretto reacted to the smell, but he couldn't keep away. He stretched out his arm and took hold of Gabe's shoulder. Suddenly, he snatched the bar from the hero's hand and completely devoured the bar with the wrapper still entact.

Gabe had no time to react when Tintoretto stole his bar. Taken entirely by surprise, the sixteen year-old turned to face the alien with a look of utmost terror on his face.

"Hey, come on man, I only just came back home. That was gonna be my first meal in two days!" he paused to sigh, before continuing. "Oh, who am I kidding. I can last another hour or two. Name's Gabe, by the way. The guys up there," he pointed up at the ceiling, gesturing to Star City, "Know me as Hellfire. And who might you be, my scaly amphibian pal?"

After swallowing the entire snack bar, Tintoretto did not feel as satisfied as he wished he had. The bar tasted completely opposite to what he desired. On his time on Earth, he'd only eaten three different types of foods. Broccoli, Lettuce, and Tomatoes. The humans would call him a vegetarian, but it's just that Tintoretto was never offered nor given any other foods.

In his home planet, it was completely different. In his home planet, he lived by the hunt, sneaking upon his prey and snapping their necks when obliged. He would usually shank them through their necks though, found it much faster and easier.

Anyhow, the point is that Tintoretto eat meats in his home planet, but here on Earth, he's only had those few vegetables and fruits. Therefore, when he tried the bar, it did not top the taste of the vegetables nor fruits - which was due to the wrapper of course. As the kid went off on him for eating his food, Tintoretto started to feel uncomfortable. Gabe then started to rant about stuff Tintoretto didn't really find important, up to the point he called him a scaly amphibian.

Tintoretto turned towards Gabe and started for him. His eyes were wide just like before when he showed his anger to Cal and Wisteria. Without notice, he pushed Gabe into the wall behind him and towered over the youngling. "YOU THINK I'M A NINJA TURTLE TOO?!!!" he yelled at the poor kid, not realizing that was not at all Gabe's judgement.

When Gabe was pushed against the wall, he was confused. Ninja Turtle? How the hell did he get Ninja Turtle from scaly amphibian pal? Raising his arms up in friendly submission, Gabe hid his fear with expertise, the only giveaway being his contracting pupils.

"Hey man, if I thought you were a Ninja Turtle, I would've told you so, okay? I just pointed out that you were scaly and an amphibian..." he explained, his voice even. Heat was beginning to build up in his body. If the turtle was to make any movement with the intention to hurt, Gabe wouldn't hesitate to warn him with flames.

With a snarl, the amphibian backed away slowly as he stood straight up again. He cracked his neck to both directions and rotated his shoulder. "I'm no Turtle, nor Ninja. I'm a Slider, a warrior-like species from planet Swaenous. You and your pals think it's amusin' to call me a Ninja Turtle just because my people resemble those jokes on the screens. Pathetic!" Tintoretto growled.

He then turned his gaze towards the mess hall where everyone had been gathering. He overheard the conversation from his location, hearing about their plans to occupy the War Room for a little training. Tintoretto had the thought of joining them, but noticed Cal was in the small group. Though he wanted to kick the guys ass, he decided it'd be in his best interest not to. He feared he'd kill the boy if he fought against him, just because of that ridiculous joke.

"You, Fire-man! I want more food! Show me where I can get it" Tintoretto demanded from Gabe. Most of his days were spent either within his own chambers or in the War Room. Food was usually brought to him so he didn't really go anywhere else. What he truly desired though was to leave the damn undergound and see the city lights once again.

"No problem, no problem at all! But a please would've been nice... Whatever, follow me," replied Gabe, walking back into the kitchen, with the intent of showing the Slider where the meat was kept. It looked like he could use some. Opening the fridge, he withdrew some beef, generating a flame in his free hand, before asking Tintoretto a question. "How do you like your steak cooked? Rare? Medium-rare? Well-done?"

"I don't know what you're talkin' about, just give me the damn meat!" he yelled at Gabe as he waited for the food to be handed to him.

"Okay, okay, each to their own," Gabe said as he handed Tintoretto a slice of meat. He then cooked his own steak in a matter of seconds using his black flame, his mouth watering as the smell of medium-rare perfection filled his nostrils.

Tintoretto looked at the meat that was given to him and compared it to the one Gabe had. He started to envy the man's steak over his own. He had no idea what Gabe had been talking about, Medium-Rare, Rare and all that bullsh*t, but could tell his meat was none of those. "Why do you encase your meat in flames? Why does it smell better than mine?!" he said becoming flustered by his own ignorance.

Gabe couldn't help but smirk at Tintoretto's lack of culinary knowledge. "I do it so the meat cooks... It makes it taste and smell better, you see," he explained.

With that Tintoretto allowed Gabe to cook his steak and make it tastier. He watched the spitful flames make the food smell much better than the snack bar from earlier. Tintoretto's mouth watered to a level of amusement. His eyes weren't turning from his lunch, just locked the steak in sight. Once finished, he started to devour the steak, not having common courtesy to use a knife nor a fork. He just grabbed it with his hands despite the heat and poured as much as he could into his mouth as he thrashed at it with his teeth. Once finished he gave a menacing burp as his hands took hold of his stomach. With a grin, he slammed his fist on the nearby table and laughed. "Hahahaha!! You're not too bad Fire-man" he stated, possibly being positive for the first time since he joined the heroes.

It's fair to say that Gabe was surprised by the compliment, what with Tintoretto's aggressive demeanor up until then. He was further surprised when the alien snatched the steak and gobbled it all up in one mouthful, not even bothering to use cutlery. "Uh... thanks," he said, grabbing a plate, knife and fork from their drawers. "I didn't catch your name though, and I'd hate to have to offend you again with a nickname I'll probably come up with, so... Care to share your designation?" he continued, emphasising on the final word to make it sound extra fancy.

"I am Tintoretto, a Slider from planet Swaenous" he started, repeating what he had already shared to Gabe. "I am no Turtle nor Ninja, I am a warrior!" he continued, slamming his fist on the table yet again. It seemed that the amphibian repeated a lot of what he spoke about before, his mind didn't really recall much of his past conversations. Events were registered like a normal humans, but since English was not his native tongue, he would have a short-term memory of it, sometimes completely forgetting the language, other times, knowing it at its fullest. Suddenly, Tintoretto paused his small speech as Gabe left the table and his general bubble. Fortunately for him, Tintoretto did not anger by his actions.

"Nice to meet you, Tintore- well, punch Batman and call me Grayson," gasped Gabe, upon seeing Magnus enter the kitchen and say hello to Kilian. "Uh... excuse me," said he to Tintoretto, before ditching his half-eaten steak and running towards his bro.

As he ran to Magnus, memories of the past year rushed into his head, memories that would have caused him to grimace in pain and flinch in fear. But that wasn't the case. Not this time, anyway.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN, BRO?!" yelled Gabe in an almost child-like fashion, encasing the tall wolfman-turned-human in a massive bear-hug, almost toppling them, Kilian and the rest of the group in a domino-like fashion. But to be honest, Gabe didn't care. The things he and Magnus had been through together had bonded them tremendously, and not even the team tripping over themselves would stop him from hugging the man.

Since Veronica was met without a response for a few minutes, she decided to flip over on her side. The fake frustration of her face dissipated when she saw Ditto standing over her. Although it was still a hard concept to grasp that #1 and #2 had their own personas, she hoped it was 2. She'd be able to figure it out though given a couple minutes of conversation as she still harbored resentment for 1. "Yo..."she said with a sigh.

"Didn't mean to just sneak up on you. You doing ok since coming back to the team? I know everything is a little crazy right now with the new recruits who've been coming in. Canary said it was the better..." Ditto2 said recalling the memories of the original Ditto.

"I'm alright. I haven't met any of the new recruits yet...personally anyway. But is this what we do? Replace the ones who passed with newbies?" Veronica knew fully well that additions would have been made with or without missing teammates. She was just questioning him for his response. "How soon after patriot died did you get the first of them?" She turned back over, and closed her eyes.

"The League's intention for this team was to lead young metahumans to becoming heroes and not superpowered thugs. I'm not even from Earth and I understand that. It'll always be a revolving door no matter who our den mother is or what sponsor's ego is bruised. Patriot, Plas, Apollo, Cyber, none of them HAD to die. But they did because they weren't as trained as they thought they were..." he tried explaining putting an arm on her shoulder, "Most of the new heroes have only recently showed up..."

She turned with a wink. "No worries. I was just curious. How have things been since I left?" she sat upright and motioned for him to sit next to her. She could tell it was 2 now. Maybe she'd make some of her famous bbq sauce for him. "Man, I've got so much to tell you about my time with the bro..."

"It's been a lot of the same, some heroes coming and going. After 3 came back Kilian got a power boost he's been a little less talkative to us duplicates.... what's up with Static these days? I heard he made the League a few months back..." Ditto2 asked taking a seat next to Shock who was kind of covering up with her jacket.

"Everyone's been taking the deaths pretty hard... He's been tough on me, I guess, to make sure I'm not next... Sometimes i feel like..."she hesitated for a moment. "Like I won't be able to catch up to him, you know?". For now that was the only concern she was willing to have out in the open.

"He's got a few years on you, V. Of course he's always gonna have the experience advantage, but ne day you'll be right up there with him in terms of power and skill. And for the record, aside from the accident a year ago on your steel pipe staff, I still think it's cooler than riding a manhole cover..." Ditto2 then said with a grin.

Under her brown skin was the undertone of a blush forming. "Thanks. Hey, how about i own you on the PS6?"she said, moving towards the tv to hook it up. She was thankful she could hide her huge grin since her back was facing towards him.

"If you wanna go again on that... what was it... Soul Calibur VIII, that's cool. Use Old Man Voldo again and I'm quitting though. Guy creeps me out worse than Brallian blood slugs..." he responded noting in his mind just how cute that grin was when he caught a glimpse for about three seconds.

E / ~KL~

He smelt him before he seen him, heard him too. He'd always thought that for someone trained by the near-mythic Batman that Hellfire made far too much noise. So flat-footed, so heavy in his movements. Always seemed that no matter how Magnus told him off for it Gabe was just determined to make as much noise as an old moose. Always making a scene, with this time being no different.

The younger teen barrelled into Magnus, his arms wrapping around the Wolfman in something the Gothamnite called a bear-hug. His impetuousness nearly knocked them both from their feet. Despite himself a small smile cracked across Magnus' face, happy as Gabe was at their reunion. This man was his closest companion and comrade, the one 'Pack-mate' he felt he could turn to when his war against Granny was at its roughest. But it was more than that, more than mere affection. Gabe had saved his life when things were at their darkest, and for that he owed the man a hug, at the very least. He patted Hellfire's back lightly but affectionately.

"Enough brother, it hasn't been so long." He eased himself from Gabe's grasp. "I've been hunting." Cryptic for the others perhaps, but Hellfire would know the meaning, know just what he had been hunting. Unfortunately his efforts had been mostly fruitless of late, Granny and her organisation having gone to ground. He had one last lead to chase down, a census station in Star City that was being used to gather information on new young meta-humans. Although not much to go on it was still a something, and at this stage he would take anything he could get. He would go and investigate the building later.

There was nothing like riding a motorcycle. Jin Ifriti felt a laugh bubbling inside her as she turned the corners of Star City at near top speed. The wind on her skin, the rumble of the engine beneath her, the city rushing by outside her helmet... it was all beautiful. Her customized bike made it all the better. She'd taken an old Ninja and rebuilt it nearly from the engine up, making it sleeker, faster, and adding in some homebrewed tech. She had a city map with GPS, a few nitro thrusters, a comm system that linked to the HQ, and various other features, some of them that only she knew about.

The thought of the Star City headquarters nearly made her miss her turn. She had been told that there would be some new teammates that the League had recruited. Jin wasn't so sure she wanted to meet them. She'd spent the last six months in therapy, and some days it felt like she'd never be 'better'. The team hadn't been the same after that whole Atlantean fiasco went down. She'd found herself awakening to an alarm that had long been blaring- by the time she got her suit on, the battle had been over. It had made her sick. She'd missed a fight- she had slept right through it! What if they'd been hurt, or worse? She never would have forgiven herself. Falling asleep on the job? What the heck kind of hero was she?

That had forced her into a sort of hiatus. She went back to Gotham, to try and sort things out on her own. Part of her missed Gabe deeply- when she took her break from the team, he went off to do his own thing. They exchanged emails often, but it wasn't the same as seeing that goof in person. She did her best to keep up her training, but didn't go out on patrol in Gotham. All she could see was her failures and the losses, and she knew that she'd crack if she went too far.

Months passed, and she realized she wasn't doing much but improving her fighting skills and trying to crack long equations for money. She'd gotten some very discreet help from Black Canary, who had set her up with a very good therapist. It was very, very hard to talk to someone about her issues. With the way she'd grown up, she kept her troubles buried deep, like the core of the Earth deep. They only came up in her sleep, and even then they vanished (more or less) when she was conscious. Digging those up while she was awake, and having someone listen... it was a lot. The first few sessions were more silence than anything, and Jin was waiting for the therapist to abandon her case, to call her unfixable. That didn't happen, even when she stopped being quiet, and started to lash out, trying to scare the therapist off. That failed to work too, and after a month Jin took the lid off where she kept her past and bad memories buried, starting to pick them out one by one.

HQ was coming into view, and she breathed out a sigh. She didn't know if she was relieved or unnerved. There was nothing to it, though, but to get it over with. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad?

She pressed the code for the hangar/garage in on a tiny keypad on her bike's console. The hangar doors parted for her, and she rolled her bike in. Her favorite spot was still empty, so she parked and turned the bike off.

Listening to the engine cool, humming and rattling away, she tugged off her helmet and finger combed her black hair. It had gotten longer, almost to her shoulders now, and she'd debated cutting it down to a more servicable length. Perhaps later. She stowed the helmet and unzipped her jacket, revealing a black tee underneath. Her hair wasn't the only thing that had grown- she'd had to buy new clothes a month ago, because the old ones didn't fit. It was upsetting; the doctor had gone on about some kind of late growth spurt and that Jin was a late bloomer. All she knew was that she had to wear a bra all the time now, and her boy disguise now required taping down her chest and wearing much looser pants. She wasn't quite liking looking like a girl.

She headed toward the hallways of the HQ, and exhaled slowly. Time to face the music. With a quick shake of her head and a double cheek slap, she headed inside.

Walking and re-wiring probably aren't the greatest combination, but it would take more than a slight sway to distract Wisteria. So, she strolled around the halls of the cave, quiet and half-focused on where she was heading. The mess of wires and metal in her hand would spark, only slightly, warming her skin for a moment before vanishing for another five minutes, and with concentrated eyes she memorized the spark and discovered a way to prevent it. Of course, another one would start up a few minutes later, but everything must be met with patience. Unless one part of that everything was annoying as fuck. Memories of Cal and Tintoretto made her eyebrow twitch, her mouth forming into an angered sneer, but the expression quickly passed when she heard faint talking before her.

'Must've wandered close to the others.'

Her eyes drifted across the metal hall, focusing in on where the loudest group of voices were coming from; the kitchen. After a second of thinking, she decided against another confrontation and instead passed the doorway, standing just off to the side. Cal exited suddenly, heading off to the bedroom area, and appeared to be unaware of her presence. Good. Wisty then glanced back to the way she was heading, guessing that if she continued on then she would end up in the lounge. Deciding against hanging out in probably the most populated room of the HQ she turned again, instead wandering back towards the entrance of the entire cave. Her focus was eventually cut in half again when the tech in her hand began to burn. She quickly began to locate and fix the problem, wincing every time one of the metal bits sparked and shocked her hand.

"Goddamn... Ugh, that's enough for today." She muttered, ripping up what ever progress she had. The sparking and overheating stopped once the wiring she had been working on was cut, and with an angry sigh she shoved everything into the duffle bag on her side. Wisteria eventually stopped her walking, glancing about to see where she had ended up now. Another hall, with a single door at the end and more halls behind. Wisty remembered it vaguely as the hall closest to the entrance, and it all became just a bit clearer when she suddenly bumped into an unseen force.

"Oof, sorry!" She apologized instantly, taking a few steps back to inspect who ever had crashed into the silent Wisty. It was a girl, a cute girl in fact, with dark skin and shoulder-length hair. She was small, shorter then Wisty at least, and seemed to be preparing for something by the way her expression looked. Due to the surrounding areas, Wisteria could only assume that this girl was another part of the team.

'Maybe this one is nicer than the rest...'

A kind smile instantly lit up the blonde's face as she held out her hand,

"Hey there! Name's Wisteria, or Owlet, as I'm called on the field." Not wanting to ask if the girl was new or not in an attempt to save herself from embarrassment, Wisty allowed her smile to grow, head cocking as she continued on, "what's your name?"

The Shadows Have Eyes

Fumiko head her phone ring an tapped the concealed ear piece she wore
Hanzo: "Miss Iga the things you requested are now packed an ready"

Fumiko smiled happy for something to relieve her boredom and said
"Thank you Uncle, I shall arrive there in 3 minutes"

Looking around herself Fumiko/Shadow Dancer raised her hood which filled with a shadow so complete that all that was visible of her face were two baleful yellow eyes that seemed to be a cross between a cat's and a snake's.
She slid her left foot forward and as the tip of her Tabi boots came in contact with the shadow beneath couch she seemed to become an inky black smoke that feel into the darkness under the furniture.

She was once more in her Domain the Shadow Realm as she shifted to her Dark form then took flight. Here she was the absolute, the giver and taker of life, a Goddess of Night but she was lonely.
She flew swiftly through the dark city, past it's towers which were sinister mockeries of those in the Star City that humanity saw in their world.

Her home swiftly hove into view, a fortress of deadly spikes which held pinned like the insects in a child's science fair display those creatures of darkness that had ignored her edicts or attempted to usurp her reign. Wandering the parapets of her fortress were Bodak and the dogs of this world Shadow Mastiffs. Few if any dared look upon her as she entered her home and was met by her women that were perfect copies of their mistress.

Fumiko waved her shadow servants aside as she walked towards what looked like the glare of an arch light. It was the Walk-in closet she used to enter her home in the human realm and it was as dark as night when she stepped into it. She often marveled at how the laws of light could be bent by the simple concept of POV but didn't have time to ponder it at the moment.

Shadow Dancer summoned two of her dopplegangers into the closet and paused as they picked up her packages. The trio then reentered the Shadow Realm and flew back to the Justice League's lair.

Pausing amid the shadows Fumiko looked at the small room they'd assigned her for her use. It was to her eyes lit as brightly as a stage using several High-intensity discharge lamps to illuminate it. In fact it was only lit by a desk lamp and her bedside lamp but then she was a creature of darkness gazing into the world of light.

She entered her room an doused her lights before she allowed her servants to enter. They stayed only briefly to set down their burdens then faded back into their home realm leaving Fumiko alone once more.

Shadow Dancer sighed as she slipped back into the shadows to wander the League's complex once more. She knew she should be more social with these people who she now called teammates but she worried that they would discover her true form and shun her, so rather than risk it at this juncture she returns to the comforting shadows.

Shadow Dancer leaves head quarters and flies to a section of the city that she's heard such horrible tales of. She drifts in and out of the shadows of the Triangle.
Fought over many times in the past as the evil and good sought dominion the Triangle seems immune to change for any length of time and this day as so many before is no different than the last.

The Triangle is a no man's land of sorts were gangs of thugs ply the various trades of their syndicates. A place where the desperate some how hang on amidst despair and oppressive truth. It is a dark place even in broad daylight and the perfect place for a Shadow Dancer to hunt her prey.

She moves on the edge of the world of light and her own night world flowing into those places that instill fear in the mortal beings who live here. She feels nothing but anticipation, the hunger of a hunter. Gone now is Fumiko Iga the fine young woman know for her soft manner and kind heart. She is now replaced by Gekkabijin the Queen of Night or as she calls herself to mortals Shadow Dancer. She is a remorseless and tireless hunter of those with dark souls and her weapons many.

How long she hunts seems pointless by still when she spots her prey she feels a thrill of expectation through her body like an electric shock. They are two young men who've just beaten another so badly that Shadow Dancer places a 911 call. When she is finished she spots her two prospects just before they enter a graffiti covered building that has a sign saying 221st street club. It is like all the other building around it 4 stories tall made of dun colored brick with rust fire escapes at the alley side of the building.

Yes just like all the others except that the people who are forced to walk the street it sits on use the other side and move as if the building were a beast ready to devour them.

"Perfect" thinks Shadow Dancer as she moves into the shadows near it's front steps. Those that instill fear are often unprepared to experience it themselves.
Using the shadowy halls inside the building she begins a detailed resonance of what and who is where.

23 thugs inside 7 outside

She smiles to herself as she notices that these gang members keep the lights low inside the clubhouse. She laughs softly in the shadows when she finds 8 of those inside watching a horror movie in a dark room with only one way out.
She makes her first move there as she summons three of her warriors to create the first havoc.

Her warriors appear behind those who've claimed the couch as their perch then wrap their arms swiftly around three necks and pull backwards dumping those there on their backs in a thrashing screaming pile as they fade unharmed back into the shadows. The others not understanding what just happened turn and look. It is then that a Shadow Mastiff summoned by his Mistress appears and swipes his paw across the TV smashing it to the floor and plunging the room into pitch black

This gets the ball rolling. The thugs try and break for the door not knowing what's going on only to encounter the Mastiff which swats two of them screaming back among their friends. The three warriors appear in the darkness one snatching a gun from a thug as he draws it and then hits him across the forehead with the barrel.

Shoving and kicking the warriors prevent those who draw their weapons from hitting their own and causing loss of life. Meanwhile the entire clubhouse is now alerted and some trying to enter the room but the mastiff's bulk blocks their efforts. Minutes pass till Shadow Dancer her's the beginning of the song of terror in her trapped prey's voices.

It is only when the pounding of those outside becomes frantic and those inside begin begging an praying that she pulls back her Shadows.

The one she saw as their leaders reveals his status when he walks in and begins shouting for answers and explanations. Meanwhile while the Boss tries to restore order two of his gang on other floors suffer attacks.

One is walking towards the stairs when from an open door a Mastiff lunges out an grabs him in his jaws and drags him screaming into the dark room.
Another thug suffers humiliation as well as fear when while sitting on the porcelain throne he his attacked by two shadow Warriors who disappear almost as quickly as they appeared. When they leave he is a frightened wreck damp with urine and bowel.

Shadow appears out of the darkness at the end of a hall her hooded faceless figure staring at several of those still outside of the TV room. Her Yellow eyes glow dimly in her hood's shadow causing the thugs looking at her to pause before they reach for their weapons. She is replaced by a shadow warrior just as the thugs fire in her direction destroying it.

She reappears behind them and screams a blood churning scream before fading back into the shadow realm